Saturday, October 25, 2014

Demos on FEC want to suppress free speech on the Internet...

Democrats mostly rule the the mainstream media. but the Internet has opened up the possibility for anyone to reach a mass audience. A good example of this is the success of the Drudge Report and many blogs. Democrats don't like this and are trying to use the FEC to tamp down the conservative voice on the Internet.

In a surprise move late Friday, a key Democrat on the Federal
Election Commission called for burdensome new rules on Internet-based
campaigning, prompting the Republican chairman to warn that Democrats
want to regulate online political sites and even news media like the Drudge Report.
Democratic FEC Vice Chair Ann M. Ravel announced plans to begin the
process to win regulations on Internet-based campaigns and videos,
currently free from most of the FEC’s rules. “A reexamination of the
commission’s approach to the internet and other emerging technologies is
long over due,” she said.
The power play followed a deadlocked 3-3 vote on whether an Ohio
anti-President Obama Internet campaign featuring two videos violated FEC
rules when it did not report its finances or offer a disclosure on the
ads. The ads were placed for free on YouTube and were not paid
advertising.